Pfizer vaccine update: UK regulators report two suspected allergic reactions on first day of rollout

"Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feature," June Raine, Chief Executive of the (MHRA) said.

Moneycontrol News

Dec 9, 2020 / 06:25 PM IST

Source: Reuters

Regulators in the United Kingdom (UK) on December 9 said two suspected allergic reactions have been reported from Pfizer's coronavirus vaccination drive that began yesterday.

"Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn't a feature," June Raine, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), told lawmakers, according to news agency Reuters.

"But if we need to strengthen our advice, now that we've had this experience in the vulnerable populations, the groups who have been selected as a priority, we get that advice to the field immediately," the official said.

Following this, Britain's medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergic reactions do not get Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine.

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COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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